The Future of Warfare: What will the Battlefield Look Like in 2050

[@parsaautomatica]

The future of warfare, as always, remains at the mercy of logistics, manufacturing cost and military budget.

[@danwall9301]

Don't forget resource availability: metals for batteries, high- grade sand for silica production, rare earth elements for doping and magnets, to name a few. China already is the source of many materials critical to the US defense industry.

[@davidmclean357]

This right here. Ukraine war has some museum relics fighting because they have to, but really even the abrams is a 40 year old platform and that is the "new" system. Really want a good view of this kind of stuff? Chieftan for armor and Perun for defense economics

[@droe2570]

Don't forget physics, tactical and strategic goals.

[@blackoak4978]

The war in Ukraine is stressing the ammunition production capabilities of the richest countries in the world, and people keep trying to claim that some new, expensive, complicated technology is going to revolutionize warfare... Yeah right

[@dianapennepacker6854]

2050, where there are quantum photonic computers using the traveling sales person problem to calculate the fastest and most efficient supply routes with what assests. Massive RDRE full flow rockets dropping supplies to the other side of the world ASAP. Including a full company of orbital drop troopers. Hybrid electric turbofan hypersonic sea planes ferrying tanks, drones, and supplies. Massive fleets of drone barges also bringing supplies. Exoskeletons on the supply side for sure carrying supplies in the ware houses, and building bases.

[@adelahogarth2761]

Nobody is getting rid of wheels and tracks. I was a mechanic in the ADF, and I cannot imagine a bigger headache than trying to put the same armaments of a tracked or wheeled vehicle on a mobile 'legged' platform--And still expecting to recover it from the battlefield if damaged, or the nightmare of refuelling or re-arming such a platform during an operation. Wheels and tracks aren't going anywhere unless humans give up war, or are reduced to fighting with sticks and stones. I like BattleTech as much as the next gearhead nerd, but even BattleTech understood the only way you'll get a large walker warfare input is rich, interstellar nobles turning such outfits into honour guards with trumped up ideas of their own prestige and glory.

[@simon0674]

You are 100% correct.

[@MrSatnavatron]

If you've got a laser based system with over 20 miles of effective range. Any gains in height will give better battlefield control

[@bobathefact2305]

Wheels and tracks pretty much gone at this point I don't know what you're talking about governments can pretty much destroy you for thinking wrong just by taking your money and as for killing you well teeny tiny little bugs flying in the sky dropping bombs. Nobody has guns they just need coordinates and your information.

[@MyCaptainPugwash]

Yeah, I track a ground vehicle and it becomes immobile but still usable, track something with legs and its entire balance is redistributed and half of its field of fire is the ground.

[@davidmclean357]

@@MrSatnavatron until it rains, snows or fog. Lasers are good for aiming, but kinetic systems are cheaper, more reliable and currently more effective.

[@tfmonkeybiz]

I feel these will age like the predictions about flying cars from the 60's.

Definitly. Future warfare is about cheap clouds of facetracking exploding drones.

[@gidelix]

yeah, seems like the people who came up with that report played too much cyberpunk

[@Juras181]

​@@gidelix But the Cyberpunk reallity is far more likely. I mean we are on a good (or not so good) way in this case.

[@mat3393gjh]

It does feel like it will age. Though not much. It’ll likely be something like: Offer to become a cyberborg, if you already had extensive training and acquired the injuries afterwards, although the enhancements are more like a mental iPhone, and AI-assistant, meant to help with internalised tasks like coping skills, internal dialogues, various problem solving, etc. And maybe reducing pain issues or other quirky stuff….oh and you can’t afford the down payments, so you’re taking on lots of debt, and that debt is loaned to someone else for profit and extra rights to print more money.😂 There might be cool stuff done with the human eyes, though I doubt it’ll be exactly like what was said in the report. The tiny mechs might be a thing, though it might be a bigger presence in sports.😂

[@Doomguy-sr4sd]

100%

[@LovelyDestructionSTL]

The missing link between artillery and infrantry..... Metal Gear....

[@RabbiYitzchakBenForeskinowitz]

oyvey

[@CubanChi]

Metal Gear!?

[@sharonwolf7316]

Granin said it in pt 3. What's the next evolution of the tank. Legs.

[@7KiD7ViCiOuS7]

Raaiiiiiden!

[@WasabiSniffer]

metal geeaaarrrrrrrrrrrr

[@maxwirt921]

“We have the element of surprise. What does Lovelace have?” “He has an 80 foot tarantula”.

[@shinkicker404]

That movie is gold. Cheese covered gold.

[@maxwirt921]

@ Absolutely. Loved that movie as a kid! I should watch it again now that I’m 34 and see if it holds up. Legendary comment, BTW.

[@Palemagpie]

Fun fact Will Smith actually turned down The Matrix to work on Wild Wild West.

[@maxwirt921]

@ I’ve heard that. WTF?

[@mr.smithsgovermentclass4556]

And a Colombian maid

[@kaiyack]

“The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In any case, most actual fighting will be done by small robots, and as you go forth today remember your duty is clear: to build and maintain those robots.” The Simpsons

[@richardgray2453]

Do you remember the Season/Episode?👍😎👍

[@correctionguy7632]

@@richardgray2453 season 8 episode 25

[@richardgray2453]

@@correctionguy7632 Thanks for the Reply. I'll check it out.👍😎👍

[@apathyguy8338]

Everybody has been claiming that the tank is dead since the Arab Israeli War of 1973 and yet somehow here we are still making them.

[@lo1lawl]

no we're not. US isnt making tanks, US sets the meta. Nations that lose hundreds of thousands of troops and fight cold war era battles use tanks. Nations that roflstomp everything in front of them use stealth bombers and don't risk stupid escalation that could cost people back home tears and years.

[@wyattkrumanaker6116]

and up into dessert shield, sent a shit load over there. me personally i think it’s because their just cool and go boom 😂

[@rubiconnn]

In 2050 America's military will be: The same Humvees and M1 Abrams, soldiers wearing a new pattern of camo that the DoD spent a hundred million dollars on that barely works, and a new rifle that the DoD spent a billion dollars on that is just another AR15 like the other 100 variants that they've already wasted money on.

[@loupdeguerre]

Gun killed the knight, it just took a few century to effectivly do so, same with how the carrier killed the battleship and it still took a few decade for it to finally happen. It's the same with tanks nowadays, we keep making them because the whole infrastructure to make them IS there so it's cheaper to keep making them now and we'll keep making them until that infrastructure start to show need of repair/replacment then we will see the main battle tanks slowly decline in favor of over armored vehicle solution.

[@ChristoffRevan]

​​@@loupdeguerreThe thing is, what's the replacement for a tank? Your examples are all showing an actual replacement, but for the tank there is none. Knights replaced light horsemen, and cavalry armed with guns replaced knights, and tanks replaced cavalry. So...what's the replacement for the tank here? Something that's fast, moves on the ground, and has a lot of attack power is what we're talking about as that's the analogue for this....I'll wait for your answer

[@Omegasupreme1078]

The other other thing is, a couple weeks ago the US Naval Institute had two papers in its Proceedings publication. One advocated for high-tech weapons to act as force multipliers in amphibious operations. The other was written by a USMC officer who said "we're not so sure about high tech, because all of our stuff gets wet, gets dropped, salt gets into everything, weight and space are always at a premium because we have to carry everything we need and can't just send a truck convoy back for more ammo, and we are usually a very long way from repair depots, and that's BEFORE the enemy gets involved, so maybe we really should just have a Toyota Hilux?"

[@ColonelEviscerator]

Top Gear did an episode about how getting water and salt into a dropped Toyota Hilux wasn't a total deal-breaker.

[@lolmao500]

Meanwhile trump in project 2025 : yeah we will do a conscription and put trillions in nukes.

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

I could see drones that fly resupplies of ammo and other things to the front line or wherever else it needs to go, but too much reliance on high tech gear is definitely an Achilles heel.

[@JinKee]

The real secret is the QC and design that goes into a toyota hilux. Anybody can make something complicated but it takes a genius to meet requirements with something simple

[@WisdomLearner]

Defense contract for Hilux Champ

[@natef15]

Just ignoring every dystopian scenario in books and movies is a bold strategy.

[@I_am_a_human_not_a_commodity]

They're taking them as guiding principles at this point. 🤦‍♂

[@solarsailor1534]

If the military builds functional mechs, I’m joining.

[@snarkymoosesshack8793]

REACTOR: ONLINE SENSORS: ONLINE WEAPONS: ONLINE ALL SYSTEMS, NOMINAL

[@MadisonAtteberry]

For me, levitating battleships.

[@memorizedvisions]

depends on what kind of mechs

[@michaeldority9282]

You'll be to old to join by the time they come out

[@MadisonAtteberry]

@@michaeldority9282 Maybe not, my brother is a recruiter in the U.S. Air Force, and all branches just moved up their age restriction and he just recruited the oldest person to enlist, 60. Granted he was prior service, but the stop off is for non-previous, 42, and previous service, 62. There is also the possibility of one of these age reversal or reduction, and life lengthening research will have a breakthrough. For me, it would make sense for the military to have such research, if they already don't as it would benefit them more then civilian, so say there is a breakthrough, people take this new technology, age reverse to their biological 20's, with a live span of lets say 150, has been in both trade school and collage for 50 years, biologically 20, they would be more useful to the military with all those skills acquired.

[@Beretic805]

It inevitably always boils down to a power source. We ain't building shit until we get that sorted.

[@osmacar5331]

Power isn't the problem, stability is.

[@reapersasmr5483]

We have mini reactors so that's not a issue it more keeping it upright and able to get back up stuff like that . Think the other guy said stability is the issue

[@autumnteien8672]

Don't forget making sure it won't explode in a shower of radioactive particles when shot.

[@starrisk]

​@@reapersasmr5483 Getting legged can just mean the mech becomes a pillbox just like a tracked tank. If we can get those micro reactors working and doesn't blow up in a nuclear disaster when shot... Balancing and stability is probably child's play at that time.

[@quantum5661]

@@starrisk except when a tank gets tracked its still upright, when a walker does its suddenly sideways.

[@jasonalexander7308]

No, anyone in construction with heavy equipment will tell you, you're wrong. Tracks are amazing for Many applications. Including warfare.

[@Aereto]

Meanwhile in swamps and mountains:

[@sethb3090]

There will probably be legged units, I just doubt they'll be general use front line.

[@averywhitaker3513]

​@@Aeretoah yes, a mech in a swamp. Otherwise known as a turret, or scrap. Mountains aren't much better. Be fun to see what a pilot would look like after falling in one

[@mryellow6918]

@@Aereto in either its still gonna be worse with legged armour.

[@reasonablespeculation3893]

It's all a BS waist of money. Does anybody remember the 20 years of progress, by the "greatest" military on earth, in Afghanistan? The "greatest" military got its A$$ thoroughly kicked, and then was Kicked Out. What about the USA Southern Boarded? No matter how much research... No matter how many Billion$. Still can't protect the boarder. What is all this tech for?

[@avery4149]

One of the thing about Mechs that people just don't talk about enough is ground pressures. Wheels and Tracked vehicles have their weight spread evenly over their wheels and tracks, but a bipedal mech will only have two pressure point for the whole thing, talking about getting stuck in mud or fragile surface. Making it lightweight kind of defeats the purpose, and increasing the "legs" will just means that it will be less of a problem, but still a problem nonetheless and my greatest sympathy for the maintenance crew.

[@MinMaxxx]

Retractable webbed footing enhancement for when low ground pressure is needed. Or a biped machine goes to quad mode to traverse difficult terrain with weapon stowed (but still fully functional)

[@etherealbolweevil6268]

Anti mech nets - they're the future.

[@peachypietro9980]

But hold up, maintenance aside (which is a big thing when it comes to contemporary warfare), why choose a vehicle that is slower and yet able to handle terrain other vehicles can't? Idk, since mechanized and armored warfare is made for plains and deserts, not marshes and mountains. Can't send an armored or mechanized inf div in a bog without it basically neutralizing the sole purpose behind mechanizing it - speed and mobility. Legged vehicles allow for some more options in these terrain types, especially firepower, but they don't increase mobility or speed. Not saying they can't be useful, but they're not the end all be all of future warfare.

[@WarBirdGhost]

Gundams when? Building a Patlabor combat suit should already be possible by now.

[@NailFromNamek]

Don't forget that mech legs are MUCH more expensive and complex than treads. Their also more sensitive. The increased complexity means their much easier to break and cost more to maintain. It's not worth the change

[@doomspud6302]

So basically, Masamune Shirow got it all right when he wrote Ghost in the Shell back in the 80s. Drone weapons, AI powered "Think Tanks", cyborg soldiers, and deep cyber warfare. Though GitS does take place in the 2040s, so maybe he was a decade off.

[@DmdShiva]

And Appleseed's landmates.

[@nilsingvar7319]

Cyberpunk ttrpg has gotten so much right too if you move the timeline 3 decades

[@Cagliostro81]

@@nilsingvar7319 Sure seems like it, choom.

[@Cagliostro81]

@doomspud6302 Plus Tachikoma’s are adorable!

[@ButWhyWasTaken]

he was 100 years off. I don't know why but "near future" sf is either now, but there is this one tech the story revolves around or it's supposedly near future but actually shows stuff that would take decades if not centuries to happen irl. I do some worldbuilding purely for fun and what most seem to do is how I started but then realized makes no sense, which is starting with a target year where the story starts and then work backwards and add timeline entries for all the things that need to happen, like technology needs to be invented and then improved multiple times, major changes in geopolitics need to happen multiple times, people have to establish organizations, colonies, etc., etc. and you pack your timeline full with them but it ends up with stuff happening way too fast and each individual step stops making sense because e.g. someone goes from being able to reach mars in 1 month to creating a generation starship that ends up colonizing another planet in a mere 20 years or something when obviously the difference is huge and 1 month or even 1 year is a world away from many generations living and dying on the ship because a spaceship lasting 50 years won't cut it and all sorts of tech lasting many centuries and being easily repairable and replaceable will be needed for a generationship or irl we got a cyborg who implanted some cam or such in his skull connected to his brain but the leap to cyberbrains being common is 100+ years and not 11 since irl obviously that is a unique thing and encasing your brain with technnology to be able to browse the internet faster and opening yourself up for people to literally hack your brain is just not gonna happen remotely soon, hell the internet needs to evolve for there even to be something you can do with a cyberbrain you can't do without one and the metaverse sure as hell won't be it and it the way it is atm it is failing _hard_ with no one else trying to make anything like it because everyone else knows better than to waste billions on such an obvious pipe dream when there is no commercial infrastructure or incentive for any companies to ever bother with connecting to something like it atm.

[@MezeWorld-h6m]

"Peace is a lie" "There is only passion" "Through passion, I gain strength" "Through strength, I gain power" "Through power, I gain victory" "Through victory, my chains are broken" "The Force shall free me"

[@maxdanielj]

Everything That Has Transpired Has Done So According To My Design.

[@scooterhocfecit3685]

It is by the juice of sapho that I acquire passion.

[@NotThatKraken]

As an advanced, autonomous biped myself, I can verify that tracked vehicles fall over a lot less in slippery conditions and rough terrain than bipeds do.

[@mrfigaloopierre9610]

Yeah, but now try to drive a tank up stairs

[@sirab3ee198]

​Ahhhh yes because we need tanks sneaking around in buildings 😅😂😅...

[@ProfessionalPFChangsExpert]

Mechs won't be sneaking around and going upstairs, lmao. They're wayyyyyy to heavy and loud to do all that, tanks have the same issue. Y'all expect mechs to have super powers and to be as agile as an infantryman. Goobers.

[@mrfigaloopierre9610]

@@ProfessionalPFChangsExpert I think the idea would be to have them be smaller so that they are more adapted to a human centric urban environment than to an open battlefield. So they would likely be purposefully designed as some parody of an IFV

[@rogerwilco1777]

@mrfigaloopierre9610 tanks can climb stairs.. look at those bomb diffusing or hostage 'tanks'.. a two legged bot would require all kinds of gyros and actuators and crazy computer imputs just to not fall over on the 1st step.. while a treaded vehicle can just do it for a fraction of the cost

[@frsepulve]

The nerve of name-dropping AT-STs when there's a perfectly fine GDI Titan right in the very thumbnail.

[@Daginni1]

In the name of Kane. IN THE NAME OF KANE!

[@felixleong61]

​@@Daginni1 Nod scum. Steel Talons Rule!

[@bagustesa]

@@Daginni1 PEACE THROUGH POWER

[@Cyber_kumo]

@@bagustesa One Vision, One Purpose.

[@bagustesa]

@@Cyber_kumo Kane Lives in Death

[@natsune09]

As a veteran of Iraq, let me enter my opinion about these opinions: 0:51 Legs won't replace tracks. Tracks are just faster and more stable platform for weapon systems attached. You also get a better load dispersal and better shock absorption with tracks. You aren't going to be able to put heavy weapons on legs and expect them to go though mud. I think a likely scenario to counter what we are seeing in Ukraine is a robo-dog that has short ranged air defense to counter drones that can keep up with tanks or mounted to them and able to deploy from the tank to go out and set up a perimeter from the tank regardless of terrain when the vehicle is stopped. You will never see a large mech on the battlefield. A large mech will be very limited where it can move, even more so than a tank. Powerlines, trees, and various other obstacles will hinder the deployment and its lack of concealment will be a magnet to direct and indirect fire, drones, and everything else they can throw at it. 7:50 Most soldiers are not lifers and leave service after a couple years. You aren't going to get people willing to allow augmentations, and those augments costs are going to be highly problematic. All classified sensitive needs to be easily destroyed to prevent capture. So having a neural access to a blue force tracker sounds great, but what would destroying that potential catastrophic ComSec vulnerability mean for the soldier with a brain implant?

[@Kaltagstar96]

On the cyborg soldiers point, if someone gets those hearing enhancements, wouldn't that just drive you insane because of the sheer amount of sensory overload that you'd get? Either from a battlefield or living in your city. Neither are known to be quiet places.

[@natsune09]

@@Kaltagstar96 As my dog barks at everyone that passes my door, yeah, I can feel that pain of someone with a hearing enhancement.

[@Vex8ion-1]

​@@Kaltagstar96 Who says it is not adjustable, or always active? Seems shortsighted to make a system that advanced and forget to install the "off button".

[@archmage_of_the_aether]

​@@Vex8ion-1good thing military spending is never short-sighted or prone to cost-cutting 👍

[@andreasottohansen7338]

On the thumbnail, is that the Walker out of Battlefield 2142?

[@RedentSC]

"WALKER SPOTTED!"

[@johndc2998]

Yup looks like it!

[@AndreasMoutsatsos]

That game was the GOAT

[@RoonMian]

No, not quite. "Legally distinct." I checked.

[@mikecapson1845]

100% it is, its been my fav game ever released and played. Shame it did not recieve a followup title, the Titan mode was my favourite. It was pride to being voted by your team as a commander and taking controll of that huge flying fortress filled with canons.

[@Gwanzan3325]

>uses the phrase "underground megacities" >refuses to elaborate This report sounds like a great cyberpunk novel.

[@Drewbacca77]

I picked up on that. Who is living in underground mega cities?!?

[@petemcnaughton2482]

@@Drewbacca77I haven’t read the report myself (I plan on it though), but considering the state of the world, he might be indicating the underground urban development might deepen in depth and density as climate change gets worse and worse, requiring us to increasingly take shelter underground. If that’s what’s on the author’s mind, wow the future in 30 years is going to be insanely grim

[@Gwanzan3325]

@@petemcnaughton2482 Maybe the author is more worried about nuclear fallout than rising ocean levels in 2050?

[@petemcnaughton2482]

@@Gwanzan3325 oh I wasn’t thinking of rising sea levels here. I was thinking instead that rising global temperatures would result in greater and more deadly seasonal temperature extremes - namely summer heatwaves - that would probably force people to create infrastructure underground to retreat to. I vaguely recall the BBC doing an article about underground hotpot restaurants in a central Chinese city whose popularity was reflecting the changing seasonal cycles on that province forcing infrastructural adaptations

[@Potato-Eye]

Wow, this is already so old the acronyms have already changed! Good luck keeping up

[@theblackpantslegion]

This interests me. For reasons .

[@kaelibw34]

Why does that not surprise me

[@Sethry406]

I'm just afraid we end up with Quikscell stuff.

[@Mach1048]

'The Mackie showed the Inner Sphere that War *Could* Change.' Nice to see you here mate.

[@Stedman75]

I cant imagine why... :P

[@Alpharius-Omegon]

This also interests us, mechs and titans are fun to subvert…

[@abyss9316]

Everyday we are Marching forward closer and closer to the Future that metal gear solid and hideo Kojima prophesied nuclear equipped bipedal tank

[@Alex-hu5eg]

...Metal Gear?

[@sharonwolf7316]

Granin's prophecy in pt 3.

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

​@@sharonwolf7316I'm gonna be pretty mad if that drunken fictional Russian proves correct... Well or I'm gonna laugh my ass off.

[@mikezappulla4092]

Grow up.

[@droe2570]

No.

[@0xEF666]

Artificial intelligence that controls tanks? I already saw this in a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger

[@mawnkey]

Two legged mechs won't be a thing. Balancing them is incredibly inefficient and prone to failure when hit and standing up that tall is a good way to draw unwanted attention. 4+ legged systems are far more likely to be used.

[@DarkElfDiva]

I doubt there will ever be a legged combat machine, whether it be 2 or 4 legs, larger than a small car. The drawbacks massively outweigh the advantages. Easier to tip over, taller profile, and easier access to the underbelly are just a few.

[@JeffBilkins]

It needs too many complicated moving parts. Imagine the wear and tear if you need to move kilometers, or the recovery problem if one breaks down.

[@justfly7730]

6 will be better 😂

[@fredmercury1314]

The future is hovercrafts.

[@SaanMigwell]

@@justfly7730 8, and they hydraulically actuated just like real spider legs. It should be armed with a double mini gun, and an autonomous organic neural network. We'll call it the spider mastermind. :)

[@yourbuddyunit]

Two words smash in the face of the bipedal walker: Ground pressure.

[@chriswhite3692]

Don't make them bipedal if they're an approximate equivalent to a tank.

[@Von_Langstein]

@@chriswhite3692 The rise of crab/spider mech's. Everything will eventually become CRAB even machines. Combative Recon Armoured Bot

[@brianboye8025]

The crab bio form has been extremely successful in nature.

[@Omegasupreme1078]

Also height means visibility, and visibility means people can and will shoot at it, and armoring a walker enough to have 360 protection against modern APFSDS or HEAT tank gun ammo is going to be a nonstarter.

[@brianking5092]

Wheeled vehicles are the fastest ground vehicles, followed by tracks. Although better at rough terrain, any number of legs will never compete with the speed.

[@mechs_with_hands]

Battletech has assured me that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING could possibly go catastrophically wrong in the next 100yrs.

[@johnpatrickmcp]

I for one welcome the impending Dystopian Future and the rise of our Military Cyborg Overlords.

[@Comicsluvr]

Okay...sucking up to the MCO early is NOT going to make you popular! *Runs and jumps in line right behind you**

[@noinfo5630]

​@Comicsluvr particularly it won't help you because our true saviours are the Cyborg Liberation Front! The CLF will crush the MCO! Join the ranks now and get your first improved body part with no service contact extension!* *Only applies to enhancements up to level II. Only CLF member with a 3 years (or higher) contract of which at least 15 months remaining in active service are eligible to this package. Recovery and adaptation time do not count towards active service time. In case of multiple augmentation procedures applicable, only the one with the highest expected combat improvement coefficient, according to your branch ecic manifesto, will be covered by this package. Learn more about this once in a lifetime opportunity at the CLF recruitment office in your district!

[@PeterKnagge]

"War is Peace" - Big Brother

[@bluewaffle1957]

Sadly the Dystopian Future is already being rolled out in the UK.😧

[@muguly4591]

ALL HAIL PLANKTON

[@Evilmidnightbomber2870]

I've heard stuff like this my entire Naval career. All of that stuff was killed by the inevitable cost overruns and the almighty budget cuts.

[@Halicet]

Think of it as long term planning for technologies which will be affordable only in the future when it has become so prolific that it's cost comes down via manufacturing improvements

[@gunraptor]

As far as cybernetics, I was medically retired due to injuries. I wish every day I could have continued my service. If it were to be offered, I would give full consent to be upgraded and returned to active service. As it stands, I'm already in constant physical pain, and for taking the pain away alone I would recommission; to be given better tools and tougher jobs, I would require little time to consider if I would mind getting chopped up and a 7 year ADSC. I would take even longer if cybernetics could replace my inner ear with something that does not make me violently ill in the air, and was given another round in UPT to become a pilot.

[@stupidthoughts9635]

Legs will never replace wheels/treads. The Empire found out how vulnerable they were on Hoth.

[@mryellow6918]

the empire also never specifically made them for that they wore primarily used for construction efforts and later repurposed as troop transports.

[@TricksterDaemon-jw9hi]

Interesting quote by Alexander Kott. 'The battlefield of the future will be populated by fewer humans'. This really ought to be amended, replacing 'humans' with 'human soldiers'. Often the largest number of casualties in battlefields are civilians. Civilian population centres and infrastructure are frequently targeted. I can't see that changing, no matter how many drones are being used.

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

If anything civilian casualties seem to remain a *desired* result today the moment war is actually upon us just as it was in the past... We have learned or changed not one tiny bit since whatever horrible example one might want to pull out...

[@derekstein6193]

Civilians are even more likely to be casualties in the future, as the most valuable locations will hold an estimated 60% of all humanity: urban population centers.

[@ShadowPhoenixMaximus]

Targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure is illegal by the laws of war That hasn't stopped Russia from intentionally doing it though

[@urbanstrencan]

War is getting scarier and scarier from year to year, Another great video

[@Cloud30000]

No trouble finding soldiers with hearing problems, since it is mandatory to listen to all music at 130 decibels while deployed.

[@stevetennispro]

Sounds like a... sound military practice. ;)

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

You have the cart before the horse there. In the military we lose 20% to 50% of our hearing, or more. So we tend to be half def, and require the music to be overly loud to get past the ringing of our tinnitus. Former Army 40% hearing loss, and I have tinnitus so bad I have had to learn to read lips as I can not understand most people speaking at a normal volume level. And yes I would gladly accept implants so long as they would stop the tinnitus, in fact I will take a new shoulder to replace the one the Army cost me and a new leg instead of the VA issued prosthetic I currently use as well.

[@kiwikat1854]

When are we making android girls with guns that call us commander so we can run around in snazzy uniforms pretending to do work while they do all the real work.

[@kirknay]

It's been less than a week! 😂

[@kiwikat1854]

@ nuh uh I’ve been playing gfl1 since 2019

[@cpttankerjoe]

I played GFL1 and got to the point that sending my girls into the meat grinder was actually giving me depression

[@kirknay]

@@cpttankerjoe That is just about what happened to me, to be completely honest back in 2017 to 2018. I don't care if they're neural cloud has backups, each and every one of those dolls that dies in the field is another sapient lost

[@kiwikat1854]

@@cpttankerjoe well gfl2 is less platoons of androids grinding each other down to small scale engagements between higher quality dolls but we shall see how depressing the story gets.

[@Mecha82]

In Battletech universe there are 3 major things that made battlemechs possible. Compact fusion reactor to provide needed power, myomer (artificial muscles) that make having mechanical arms and legs possible and neuro impulse helmet that translates thoughts into actions.

[@Soildus]

"There's only room for one Snake and one Big Boss!" But I really think we will see Terminators on the battlefield before Metal Gears. I mean they would probably be cheaper and easier to mass produce and they have been in the experimental phase for many years now.

[@peteduch2151]

I agree with that but don,t you think spending money to create cyborgs who kill eachother is a waste of resourses not having a war is better

[@Soildus]

@peteduch2151 there will always be wars and the more unmanned weapons systems that can be put on the battlefield the more the odds increase for war to happen b/c machines don't vote, at least not let. No one cares if 1000 metal gears or terminators are destroyed in one battle, especially when there's a 1000 more to replace them.

[@The_Good_Captain]

metal gears and terminator/cyborgs still couldnt handle a swarm of $5 drones.

[@peteduch2151]

@The_Good_Captain it is hard to hit a small target like a cyborg wich would have some defence against drones anyway

[@venator-fb7yy]

Give Elon's new robots some modified programming, an M4, some armor, and a digital pat on the back and we get some RL proto terminators!🥴 (may be more stuff to it but how close we are is to ominous not to notice)

[@talscorner3696]

Honestly, I see Spartans happening before Mechs.

[@rexmann1984]

Not as feasible as it seems. Add enough layers to any shape and it becomes a circle. Mechs might happen or not but Spartans are a long way away.

[@talscorner3696]

@@rexmann1984 that's exactly why I used Spartans as an example xD

[@Nope-bl3ig]

What is spartan armor if not a mech piloted by a traumatized and genetically modified child?

[@generaljimmies3429]

We did, in the Bronze Age😂

[@Smooth_As_Silkk]

​@@Nope-bl3igyou're right it's only a small step to genetically modify the traumatized children that currently do our warfighting

[@SmokesKwazukii]

smaller mechs like “battlesuits” that are seen in some anime and other media are a bit more feasible. A large bipedal mech, that can move quickly and actually reload it’s own weaponry as well as hardpoint mounted missiles and guns could happen. i dont see them being gundam sized but maybe 20’ish its not entirely unrealistic if they are able to move around quickly and effectively enough.

[@Bishop1664]

Nice vid. It's cool how you acknowledge that ''walkers' will only exist in a small/limited capacity. Giant walking combat mechs are definitely not something that will ever exist, the ones in movies/games/anime always have seemingly magical armor or mobility that can deflect / evade even the most hi-tech of weapons. The bottom line is that warheads/munitions are always a step ahead of even the most hi-tech armor plating and a walking mech would be so much more vulnerable than a tank on a modern battlefield (tanks are not far from becoming obsolete as it is).

[@SmokesKwazukii]

if something is highly mobile and agile it could make sense but its hard to see how they could be

[@Staf00plz]

Tracks and legs don't have to be mutually exclusive. You can have bipedal locomotion with wheels/tracks integrated into the feet like the mechs in the Heavy Gear universe, which they call "SMS" (secondary movement system).

[@claymclaren5788]

Love Heavy Gear.

[@alganhar1]

Which is a ridiculous idea. Tracks work because they spread the weight of the vehicle over the maximum possible surface area. Thats the entire POINT of tracks. Putting a piddly set of teeny tiny tracks on somethings damned foot is going to do precisely feck all for mobility.

[@gowankommando]

Zaku Tanks

[@jonothanrennert3098]

@@alganhar1what if the legs could kind of fold or transform into tracks? Still begs the question as to why legs would be needed in the first place. The only good answer is mobility in rough terrain, but not sure if that is a sufficient answer to justify legs

[@captainnutt2995]

Something like Knightmare from Code Geass. That have some kind of wheel intergrated behind it leg?

[@DoomedPaladin]

First Patlabor, then Gundam!

[@d00gz_]

A weapon to surpass $5 drone with a grenade tied to it

[@cutl00senc]

Terminator was a movie in the 1980’s. Today, it’s a mission statement

[@Tsunamiatunzen1]

There's a reason we have treaties banning weapons from space. Not saying it won't happen, but for the time being folks are hesitant to pull the metaphorical trigger. When you start launching weapons into space, that means satellites are fair game and there goes the internet (and our greatest weapon: communication) as we know it. No longer will we have near-instant access to information and communication across the globe. We'd need every satellite to have numerous defensive capabilities and very precise positioning so as not to get in range of enemy forces looking for an easy target. Not to mention the space debris that would start destroying any further satellites we put up there.

[@linerider195]

Only a small part of global internet traffic goes through satellites. I agree with the rest tho

[@NoneYobiz.]

As a metal gear solid player nothing technological will be a surprise in the next 100 years.

[@alp3274]

I wonder if in 2050, we'll look at this and call it a bunch of BS... The same way we watch movies from the 70's talking about the "future"

[@leonnunhofer3453]

The 70s is 50 years away, not 30. The 90s prediction of the future wasn't too bad. Exoskeletons and advancing AI and such stuff for the 2020s. Houses managed by computers. Smarthomes. Household robots. Such things 🤷‍♂️

[@alp3274]

@@leonnunhofer3453 Thanks for the math, I didn't have my sox off. That's why I said the 70's not the 90's.

[@Varadiio]

@@leonnunhofer3453 We even spend all day staring at a ~6-12" slab of glass and microchips when we aren't at a desk, just like Star Trek TNG. We do technically have voice-only interface options for computers. It's just that there's no standard, so everything sucks.

[@Mark-vn7et]

Great example is back to the future 2. You’ll be amazed how many things displayed there are a reality now, maybe not viable as a real product but they imagined people could predict the local weather by the second. Now it’s isn’t as accurate yet but boy is it a whole lot different then watching the weatherman every day at 8 o clock. If there is no need for robot army’s then people will not develop robot army’s

[@Varadiio]

@@Mark-vn7et That;s a good point. Movie-makers can be creative, but they aren't user-experience and production experts. Their idea might be dangerous or cumbersome in reality. It was even kind of obvious in BttF, why would Mattel be selling a hoverboard that would steer you into water? (because they didn't think of auto-pilot safety technology, not their expertise)

[@Howyaduing]

“The republic will be reorganize into the first Galactic Empire for safety & security of our society!!!”

[@Skibbityboo0580]

It is my firm believe that once something gets "installed in you" it belongs to you. It is now part of your person, and cannot be taken away by the state, or company, that put it in you.

[@jacoblandon8855]

Even if the state or company can't take it back also means they don't have to repair or upgrade it. Plus any smart company would have backdooor access to it and coulud very easy hack it to mess with it. And since it's all yours you will have to pay for repairs, upgrades, or replacment.

[@broheim23]

You were clearly never in the military.

[@tvctaswegia497]

Alternatively, it is the reverse. Have you seen the movie 'Gamer'?

[@averywhitaker3513]

I think it's the other way around actually. Once installed, I think the military, and thus the company, then owns you forever instead of just while you serve

[@rubenp8320]

Nothing like feeling you’re the last human meat bag veteran by 2077 Sick, cyber me harder.

[@damianayre2130]

They are working on a compound that will adhere to the nervous system and act like a synapse. It will make all electrical synapses an electrical-chemical synapse hybrid. Increasing signal transmission. speed by 50%. That would make someone 50% faster as well as giving them 50% faster reflexes and more agility. It will increase the rate of cognition and contemplation and possibly make them 25% stronger with greater muscular endurance. It's possible it will greatly improve memory retention.

[@katm9877]

Can you give a source/title/link? I'd love to know more!

[@suntzu6122]

I sincerely doubt there will ever be big walking robots on the battlefield. Drones make 10000x more sense. Even that small drone dog + basic weapon would be absurd in numbers. And to combat drones things like EMP or signal jammers.

[@teaser6089]

Mechs never made sense and never will. They just have downsides that cannot be overcome with technology. Remote controlled weapon systems like drones, or light unmanned tanks on the other hand will be a big thing in the future.

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

@@teaser6089 Roomba landmines. Think about it.

[@EliteArcanist]

@@teaser6089I agree at least that walker tanks aren’t likely. They wouldn’t be able to carry enough armor. Scout and troop carting walkers however seem more plausible to me.

[@venator-fb7yy]

​@@Arbaaltheundefeatedkinda like those spider mines from Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage.

[@arcturionblade1077]

​​@@ArbaaltheundefeatedAerial drones can already drop grenades onto enemy heads and entrenchments.

[@mikect500]

So basically Robert Heinlein got it correct in his book "Starship Troopers" in 1959.

[@yourhandlehere1]

More like being copied than getting it right. People in stories had ray guns...folks gotta try to make ray guns. You can thank Star Trek for those automatic doors when you go in a store. Nobody had them until Star Trek. Engineers were calling to ask how they worked. "Well there's a guy on the other side of each door and they pull them apart with a whoosh sound added later." They had to figure out how to make them real.

[@mikect500]

@yourhandlehere1 ray guns go back to H G Wells's War of the Worlds. Auto doors in 1950's space operas

[@Misiulo]

Damn you Fukuyama, you promissed us no wars by 2050!

[@Omegasupreme1078]

The other question is, how would all this high-tech, networked, electrically-powered stuff work if one country decides that rather than competing on the tech arms race they just spam the battlefield with non-nuclear EMP weapons (which have existed since the 1950s) delivered by long-range unguided rockets or tube artillery, and then march forward past a bunch of robots and drones that now have the combat value of the returns department at Best Buy?

[@offchance789]

They will counter the EMP with Faraday cages (conductive metal box) that block external electric fields. Once any side deploys an EMP, it'll be a new arms race to harden assets vs disrupting them.

[@mikezappulla4092]

We have also had countermeasures to those things since the 1950’s. This is why we don’t see emp weapons being used. Hardening electronics is not difficult.

[@SaanMigwell]

C'mon now, faraday cage around the electronics, just like we had in our military vehicles back in 2004.

[@alganhar1]

@@SaanMigwell Even before then. Hell the vehicle itself acts as a Faraday cage on its own. Add in hardening of the electronics, which can be as simple as a layer of foil, and its pretty easy to protect most military equipment from EMP strikes.

[@Omegasupreme1078]

@@alganhar1 Easy to install in vehicles. Hard to install in drones.

[@davidbright8978]

So someone with a cyberpunk and warhammer background wrote the article. Seems a helmet with a HUDs setup and those system would be better and cheaper. You can also disable it if the solider is killed or captured

[@jeffdroog]

With proper human enhancements,humans won't be killed or captured.Thats the overall goal here.

[@teamja1088]

22 years ago as I sat in a sandy hole in the ground, me and my buds who had not showered for weeks, contemplated a future where T100 & T1000 was the normal battlefield ‘soldier’. We all agreed that any benefit of deploying manufactured ‘soldiers’ would be negated by the loss of humanity that is warfare. If one nation uses manufactured soldiers against another nation that fields manufactured soldiers, wars will only end once one nation runs out of raw resources instead of trained men to fight. This would negatively increase the death of noncombatants as the wars would last decades instead of years.

[@charlesrovira5707]

@9:19 I'm thinking that _ocularly enhanced_ soldiers may look like *Batou* from *Ghost in the shell.*

[@claymclaren5788]

Or Briarios

[@claymclaren5788]

Or Briareos from Appleseed.

[@Rushifell]

Elemental infantry would be neat to see, and is kind of just a natural progression of exoskeletons... (Battletech, not flame spirits...)

[@claymclaren5788]

I think everyone that clicked on the video I probably familiar with Battletech/Mech Warrior

[@eddapultstab2078]

​@@claymclaren5788 guilty

[@Kyzrath]

In the Founder's Name, seyla.

[@bfish9700]

That's where my brain went, battlemechs & elementals

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@claymclaren5788 Heck even Tex (BPL) made a comment on this video.

[@TheSleepSteward]

That is one hell of a B at the start there Simon 😭

[@jordi0011]

Dam, this videos is basically explaining a miniatures game I’m working on. Crazy.

[@danwylie-sears1134]

At first hearing, "optionally manned tank" sounds like a bad idea. The main benefit of having no one in the same vehicle with the 120mm gun is that you don't have to armor it like a tank. That makes it lighter, which makes it more mobile and less expensive. Being less expensive synergizes with being uncrewed, to make the vehicle more attritable. That is, you can send it on a wider variety of missions if you don't have to worry about whether it will come back, and you don't have to devote other assets to trying to make sure it will. Being less expensive isn't just about purchase price, either. A tank has a massive logistical tail. Everything in a combat zone is incredibly expensive, because you have to get it there through a combat zone. On second thought, though, it sounds like a good idea. I still think that the unarmored uncrewed high-mobility direct-fire vehicle will replace the tank for almost all missions. But what does the beta version look like? You can't take the armor off first, and just hope that the beta testers will be happy with that version while you work on the next. The optionally crewed tank _is_ the beta version of the uncrewed successor of the tank.

[@davidmclean357]

Honestly i sort of think they may go the route of smaller guns but higher velocity/pressure rounds. Swarms of little tanks the size of a mid to large-ish riding law mower with 20 or 25mm very high velocity guns. Probably taking lessons from the Bradley and its 25mm getting soft kills on t-90's. Imagine 20 of those for less than a MBT and if you lose a bunch you don't lose expensive crews or have flag draped coffins in the news. Losing units without losing lives is politically a bargain even if the systems are expensive.

[@arthurwintersight7868]

@@davidmclean357 - The value is especially high for nations that don't mind trillion dollar military budgets, but a hundred flag-draped coffins is a source of national outrage.

[@TalleyrandsPuppet]

Agree. The optionally manned tank is a fine way to blow $billions.

[@CalgarGTX]

They could try to actually implement this 'modular armor' we always hear about but never seem to see implemented anywhere. If its unmanned -> give it max mobility, if its manned -> bolt on 3 armor plates to the front

[@lightlegion_]

Your creativity is fantastic!

[@fluffernutter6633]

One thing is for sure, tanks will never be replaced by anything with legs. A mechanized walker will always be worse in every way compared to a tracked vehicle.

[@mrfigaloopierre9610]

Unless of course you need to maneuver around a cluttered urban environment ill suited to purely tracked locomotion

[@fluffernutter6633]

@mrfigaloopierre9610 That's why infantry exist, they'll eventually get force multiplying exo-suits and walkers will still be completely pointless. You're also assuming the average urban environment can accommodate a tank sized walker but not a tank.

[@mrfigaloopierre9610]

@@fluffernutter6633 I never said anything about being the size of a tank, that's stupid. The point would be to have something similar to an IFV equipped with limbs that allow it to traverse urban environments.

[@fluffernutter6633]

@mrfigaloopierre9610 That's called a UGV, they're tracked or wheeled because legs add cost, complexity and size with zero benefits. A walker is either the size of a tank so it can carry serious firepower or it's smaller in which case it's job can be done by infantry and/or the UGVs that already exist. Also, IFVs are already similar in size to tanks, so a walker that's similar to an IFV would be as big as a tank once you consider how much extra size limbs would add. If they make the body of the walker smaller it's ability to carry troops and/or it's armament would be reduced thus rendering the whole thing pointless. A limbed vehicle is less maneuverable across different terrain, less durable, carries less firepower and is more expensive and complex than a tracked or wheeled vehicle. We've already been using small vehicles for fighting in urban environments since WWII and will continue to do so until we can make full on synthetic bodies with all the movement capabilities of a human, until then it's wheels or tracks.

[@g0rd0nfreeman]

@mrfigaloopierre9610or forest/jungle

[@omer1996d2]

Honestly hearing damage is so common in armies and ground forces that it would be super easy to find volunteers for aricular (hearing) implants. There's no getting away with this, firing small arms regularly leads to hearing damage if you don't correctly use PPE (and sometimes even if you do). So it's the most realistic one, and I don't think the general public will find super hearing aids cyborgs scary.

[@Vex8ion-1]

As someone with abnormally sensitive hearing, especially at my age; I can assure you that I often unnerve friends, and family, when I notice things that they cannot. They also get annoyed when I ask for music to be turned down because it's giving me vertigo.

[@omer1996d2]

@Vex8ion-1 being asked by a friend to say the same thing again from his right side because he lost his hearing on his left side on a firing range, or hearing somone complain about his tinnitus equivalently a mild social annoyance just like the situations you described.

[@CalgarGTX]

@@Vex8ion-1 Hopefully we get a volume bar with these implants, in which case I sign up. Sometimes almost wish I also destroyed my hearing blasting music like the rest of my generation, instead of being the only guy annoyed by way too loud sounds they find normal.

[@katm9877]

Not only this, but also we already have more advanced technology in this field than in the ocular implants field.

[@Squatch_needs_no_heroes]

3:07 the second Jurassic World movie told me it would be dinosaurs. Was that wrong?

[@drex8925]

Let's just pretend that film doesn't exist

[@TheRich464]

But how do you turn a cyborg soldier back into a human? Oh wait you didn’t

[@Macgyver46]

Enhanced eye sight, sign me up. I have great vision but would still love to have zoom or other cool features.

[@PeterWhite-q1k]

Dear sir, if you are under age 13 then we know you still want the X-ray eye improvements to allow you see through a female's clothing ;^)

[@Kelnx]

Binoculars?

[@jeffdroog]

ZOOM AND ENHANCE! THATS ALL I NEED!

[@Smooth_As_Silkk]

You'll need a good ad blocker! Don't think for a second tha what ever milcorp makes that augment isn't going to stream advertising at you

[@mryellow6918]

@@Kelnx you say this like a joke but like before we get all this cool stuff, mabye have enough budget for standard nv googles across the entire military.

[@datastorm75]

Some day the most dangerous person to come up against may be a senior citizen who has gradually had their parts replaced with cybernetics/bionics as they fail.

[@BobB-w4q]

Why, he didn't even mention skynet!

[@knowahnosenothing4862]

Elon's already built it, it's called Starlink.

[@DontEvenWorryAbout1t]

Augmented infantry supported with multipurpose attack/recon/resupply drones is a lot more realistic than walkers with legs, which come with their own massive slew of actual tactical limitations. Different horses for different courses i guess. But wouldn't it be better to have to have a horse that could run almost any course?

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

Yeah some of the things mentioned here are much more realistic than others.

[@Ontomancer]

Who would win: Hundreds of millions of dollars researching making mechs work Vs Mud

[@apersondoingthings5689]

Mud is the great equalizer in history

[@scottlidstone1902]

All I know is... War... War never changes.

[@SaanMigwell]

Having fought in one, I would have to disagree. War is a catalyst for change, and it's nature changes with every battle fought. e.g. the united states can be crippled if just 11 targets can be hit. This is less true of Europe, China, and Russia, but they also have the same weakness, they just have the ability to repair it whereas we do not, we'd have to buy the parts from one of our enemies.

[@scottlidstone1902]

@SaanMigwell I was just making a Fallout joke, bruv.

[@venivinivinci]

​@@scottlidstone1902 don't worry bro lol we get it and as far as the "other" guy well I've been to war also and no war is war you must have been a pog or never actually got to fight your gleamingly green

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

@@SaanMigwell The means by which war is conducted changes, the nature of war does not.

[@davidmoore8741]

It evolves always but war is always war

[@adherentofladycolumbia725]

Finally, the inevitably of Battletech/Gundam 80ft mechs firing 90mm full gattling canons can no longer be denied. No more miniaturization, ITS TIME FOR GIGAFIICATION OF WAR!! Why shouldn't the APC be able to take 12 120mm HEAT rounds without breaching??? Hmmmmmmmmmmm????

[@Adiscretefirm]

We can already pick which window to hit with aerial weapons, maybe 8 story targets aren't the way

[@dektarey4024]

Lets skip the battletech walkers and gundam suits and go straight to 40k Titans.

[@theubiquitouspotato]

Bridges that's why.

[@prisma9971]

Honestly, I’d prefer going to Armored Cores, but that’s just me

[@snarkymoosesshack8793]

@@prisma9971 I just want to be able to park a Highlander assault Mech in my driveway. Am I asking too much?

[@pixl3l]

Other famous predictions include that there is a need for maybe 3 to 5 computers in the world, that the internet is a fad to mention a few. While the exercise of "predicting" the future is interesting and might feel a bit more like a wish list in this case, its very interesting to see. As always a very well made video/presentation :)

[@nightruler666]

Ah yes ED-209

[@gardnert1]

All pipe dreams. These things are just too expensive and difficult to make and field. Infantry have to remain expendable in order to be properly used. Every advantage you can think of has a disadvantage (or several) and the more capable or lethal you make something, the more incentive an adversary has to build something that can more easily counter it at a cheaper price and more easily employed method. Drones are hot right now because the counters to them are still being worked out. Make your infantry into robocop and the impetus to counter them will increase dramatically. The correct way forward in future combat will be employing cost-effective, balanced weapons and focusing on strategies and tactics to overcome the enemy... so literally the same thing we've been doing since organized warfare began.

[@knowahnosenothing4862]

The new ocular gear is real and already here, hybrid thermal and night vision. They are designing equipment that makes the individual combat soldier a targeting node in the killchain just like any machine that can share targeting data.

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

Well outside of impractical ideas for drones like what the US military does with Reaper drones, we see that practical drone warfare involves smaller and much cheaper drones, like quadcopter type drones. The counter to that is literally just a field shotgun loaded with birdshot. That's what has been happening in the Ukraine war. I presume that convoy security drone countermeasures will emerge, consisting of an armored truck to safeguard against small arms, but while there would be armor around the bed of the truck the top would be open and some guys with field shotguns will be riding in the bed to take out drones. Probably with one or two machine gunners to take out enemies trying to neutralize the drone countermeasures guys. Basically imagine a much larger and up armored pickup truck with a bed that can have a dozen guys back there, and the side panels, which again are armored, would go about 4 feet tall.

[@Nope-bl3ig]

I probably can design a relatively cheap and effective 4 legged missile launcher. I don’t care if it’s “impractical” or “impossible”, I’m gonna make it.

[@cyclopsshaman.2204]

There's gonna be a lot more Snakes.

[@Sams911]

M1A1/A2 Tanker here... Gulf War 1 vet.... the tank was pretty much obsolete back then, forget about now

[@asserkortteenniemi4878]

Bullshit.

[@johndc2998]

Perhaps crewed tanks are obsolete but as a whole I'd wager still effective. @@asserkortteenniemi4878

[@johndc2998]

Oh and thank you for your service, welcome home.

[@davidmclean357]

Change to say the MANNED tank and you might, maybe have an argument. Take out the crew and everything to support them, add more ammunition and better autoloaders and field it as a UGV.

[@jubjub7101]

What about the battle of 73 Easting? What would’ve been preferable to take out enemy armor?

[@Eldexo]

Simon, congrats, this was a beast of a script. BTW, battlefield of 2050 will probably be sticks and stones...

[@7CH-912-CC3]

this guy really has a talent for making things sound boring

[@ryanbrooks3432]

I remember when I was growing up that the military planned to have ground drones and exosuits, they said every soldier would have HUDs and cameras on their guns and all this cool stuff. Well it’s been like 16 years and that’s still not happened. From my perspective while all this is things they want to do, the budget to do it? I don’t think it’s their to mass produce it

[@SaanMigwell]

The HUDs and cameras have happened, its only a matter of time before they filter down to the line infantry, some already have them. The exoskeletons exist, not sure what their adoption status is though.

[@davidmclean357]

Battery tech doesn't support the kind of exoskeletons they want to have happen - the real future of warfare is what is happening in Ukraine - big ticket items are old items because they are expensive and take a while to produce. Meanwhile cheaper systems like drones evolve fast and supplement the heck out of artillery, which against a peer enemy is still a big deal. Top line systems take a long time to build and are expensive, so its definitely a "come as you are" situation. That also means old gear is still the rule.

[@arthurwintersight7868]

@@SaanMigwell - Exoskeletons require an adequate power source, and once you're building a nearly stationary defense system, you might as well just buy off-the-shelf turrets and call it a day. Even for heavy lifting situations, the US military prefers to stick a light crane on a truck, because there are fewer things to break and it's simple enough that soldiers can be taught to repair it themselves.

[@SaanMigwell]

@@arthurwintersight7868 I fought in the Iraq War for the US army. I'm very aware of what the US military prefers or not. Like I said, the exoskeletons were being tested all the way back in 2007. The power source was the wall socket, they were being used to stock supplies.

[@arthurwintersight7868]

@@SaanMigwell - The problem is a little crane on wheels is cheaper to build and maintain, and doesn't require specialized knowledge to fix.

[@The-UnMinghty-Eagle]

Warhammer fans 💀

[@HomeofdaBONE]

Begun, the Drone War has....

[@bryanshoemaker6120]

All this talk about future weapons but what people don't realize it's just how easily we can get pushed back to world war II weaponry. Modern weapons are expensive, they take a lot of resources to produce and they are complicated which means they take more time. A sufficiently large enough battle can very easily deplete a stockpile.

[@1originalaccountname]

Metal Gear!?

[@gunraptor]

MechWarriors, our time is coming!!!!

[@LordFalconsword]

As an author of military science fiction, where most of my bestsellers are in a universe where powered armor dominates, I approve of this video.

[@taliakelly554]

Sounds like 40k lol

[@Soravia]

Most likely is Landmates from Appleseed. Oversized Exoskeleton suit that can defeat armor, but small enough to go inside buildings. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGi9nJJ-rtqAr7c

[@knowahnosenothing4862]

Like an IFV on legs.

[@Soravia]

@knowahnosenothing4862 not really. It's like a powersuit but bigger, human arms are separate form suits arms, but human legs are inside suit.

[@JeffBilkins]

Can it be so strong but still light enough to not break through the floors and stairs?

[@Soravia]

@JeffBilkins yes, that's what Landmates are for, military and special police. They can also attach special jet-packs to fly short distances to go up building, etc. Watch Appleseed. Either the old 2D anime or mid 2000s 3D animated movie.

[@Soravia]

@@JeffBilkins yes, they were used for infantry and special police. They can also attach jets for short distance flights up buildings

[@nolovequeen6023]

you pretty much made a video about Metal Gear and I love it

[@StevenCampbell1955]

Nothing covers a muddy, soft terrain at speed, like a pair of infantry boots on legs. All heavy vehicles are going to become mired. Is every attack going to become airborne? Undoubtably.

[@FiendWS6]

Mobile vehicles returning to legs(sweep/destroy the legs). Everything going airborne? time to bust out the good old netgun. The more things change the more they stay the same.

[@JustSomeGuyLass]

I imagine the tactic of drone swarming the enemy into submission isn't going anywhere. Tanks, walking tanks, armored vehicles, anything expensive and relatively slow is just asking to be knocked out by a cheap commercial drone.

[@hikmolokov2545]

​@@JustSomeGuyLass Introducing electronic countermeasures. That drone that was flying at our tank? We just cut the pilot's connection. Stop thinking about military technology as entire branches becoming obsolete and more as a pendulum, a lot of things start to make more sense. Sometimes tanks have the edge (post-WW2 era), other times it's aircraft (late cold war). Ironically, the most reliable fighting and occupation force is always the infantry, hence why every nation's battle doctrines are centered around supporting the infantry's mission.

[@michaelbarnard8529]

Walkers basically are much more venerable than tracked vehicles. It’s just too much more area to armor, and while there may be environments where a 50 ton walker has more mobility than tanks, tracks and wheels will be faster in almost all terrain. What may be on the way out is large cannons. I expect tanks to shift away from “land battleships” toward “land missile cruisers”.

[@alganhar1]

A 50 ton walker will have lower tactical and strategic mobility in most terrains than either tracked or wheeled vehicles unless they make its feet comically huge. Much of the cross country ability of tracked and all terrain wheeled vehicles is due to their relatively low surface pressure. That low surface pressure is attained by spreading the weight of the vehicle on as high a surface area as possible. This is why you see large wheels on ATV's, and why modern wheeled combat vehicles often have six or eight large wheels. Its to reduce ground pressure as well as increase grip. You cannot do that on walkers. So that means walkers will be unable to operate on 'soft' terrain that wheeled and tracked vehicles could operate just fine on.

[@TNH91]

Did you mean "vulnerable"? Because I don't think walkers have been around so much longer than tracked vehicles to become venerable.

[@EAWanderer]

Mecha suits would be sweet! 😅 Acrobtatic Samurai fighting style! If only...

[@Adiscretefirm]

When one side can go to war without risking people and the other side can't a whole new rule book is going to be needed

[@Ghost_1297aa]

Nukes will also be back on the menu no human no human rights and if it's a first world battle then it's dudes all over again

[@Ghost_1297aa]

Also emp tech will advance faster than ever

[@benitokiri]

Ghost in the Shell anime and Metal Gear Solid games have almost all of this.

[@wp2746]

That damn invention of the wheel 😮

[@bill4913]

Simon.. have you watched the Japanese anime ghost in a shell stand alone complex? Watch it.

[@RicoShae1983]

9:26 … at this point, is anyone else thinking RoboCop and OCP, and or Jean Claude Van Dam’s, Universal Solider..? 🤔 Or is that just me..? 😅

[@ZatoichiBattousai]

The Plot Of Horizon Zero Dawn

[@blacklanner5886]

A Kiroshi optical implant? Really going for top shelf tech Viktor.